Elon Musk likely broke the law by promising voters $1 million payouts: Wisconsin board
The Wisconsin Elections Commission filed two complaints with the Brown County district attorney’s office last week; prosecutors may choose to file criminal charges for violating state law against election bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to report to the commission.
Musk, SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO, has been deeply involved in efforts to replace majority control of the highest court in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
The tech giant and the groups it supports spent at least $20 million on Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel. However, he lost to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points.
A month after the disproportionate loss, Musk announced he would spend much less money on political campaigns. Spending on the election exceeded $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.
Prosecutors will decide whether Musk will be charged over $1 million check
The complaints, confidential under state law, were filed by Green Bay voters in Milwaukee and Brown County. Musk handed out checks at a rally there just days before the election.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission, made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in closed session Thursday to refer the complaints to the district attorney, said Emilee Miklas, a spokeswoman for the commission. Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
In the motion approved by the election commission, it was stated that there was a possible reason for Musk to violate Wisconsin law by posting a social media post offering $1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court elections “to encourage them to vote in this election.”
Musk’s spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Musk gave $1 million checks to 3 voters in Wisconsin
Three Wisconsin voters received checks from Musk; Among them were two people who personally received the checks at the Green Bay rally. Two weeks before the election, Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, offered $100 to voters who signed or directed someone to sign a petition against “activist judges.”
Crawford’s victory ensured that liberals retained control of the state Supreme Court, and the majority increased to 5-2 after the victory of Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor this year.
Musk’s spending on the 2025 race resulted in a lawsuit by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a government watchdog group, that aims to ban him from ever offering cash payments in the state again.
This case is pending in Brown County. It alleges that Musk and two groups he funds violated the ban on voter bribery and unauthorized lotteries and that their actions amounted to an illegal conspiracy and a public nuisance.
Attempts to stop Musk fail in 2025
Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general filed a lawsuit to block Musk from giving the checks to two voters, but was rejected by state courts.
Musk’s lawyers argued in their 2025 legal filing that Musk was exercising his free speech rights by giving gifts and any attempt to restrict them that would violate both the Wisconsin and U.S. constitutions.
Musk’s lawyers argued in court filings that the payments were “intended to build a grassroots movement against activist judges, and not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate.”
Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic ahead of the 2024 presidential election, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.
